How To Check If Your Child’s Shoes Are Too Wide? – The Most Simple And Effective Way!

Have you been wondering if your kid’s shoes are too wide for their feet? Do you have a feeling that your kids have narrow feet and the shoes that they are wearing are too wide for their feet?

Wearing shoes that are too wide can create several foot issues to your child’s feet such as blisters, calluses, and corns. When a shoe is too wide, it allows the feet to move too much inside the shoes, which leads to a constant friction between the feet and the shoes. That constant friction and rubbing between the feet and the shoes leads to the foot issues mentioned above.

It’s important to make sure that your kids’ shoes are not too wide for their feet, and I will show you the simplest, yet most effective method you can use to check this.

I have been working for a specialized children’s shoe store for over 10 years now, and I handle approximately two hundred shoe fittings and try-ons per week. I have fitted hundreds of children’s shoes, and I am familiar with which shoe brands and which shoe styles are better than others.

Since I have been fitting shoes for so long, I consider myself an expert in this area, and I have different methods I use to check if the child’s shoes are fitting correctly.

Please keep in mind that I always encourage parents to take their children to be properly fitted for shoes at their local kids’ shoe store, where a shoe fitter can measure their feet and properly check if the shoes are fitting correctly. I decided to create this article to HELP those parents who don’t have a shoe store in their area that they trust.

Shoes that are too wide will cause instability and make your child more prone to falling down.

If you are a parent without a good fitting kids’ shoe store in your area, then keep on reading so you can find out how to check if your kids’ shoes are too wide. All you will need to do is follow these 4 simple steps:

The 1stSTEP is to put your child’s shoes on and make sure to either tie the shoelaces properly or pull the velcro strap of the shoe tightly.

The 2ndSTEP is to have your child stand up straight and make sure that he or she is looking straight ahead.

The 3rdSTEP is to check if there is extra space around the heel counter of the shoe. Do you know what the heel counter of the shoe is? The heel counter is the back part of the shoe that provides ankle support and here you can where it is located:

I want you to slide your finger around the heel counter of the shoe and check how much space there is. There should be enough room that the shoes are not too tight, but if you can fit two fingers around the heel counter area, that means that there is too much extra space. Take a look at the picture below for clarification:

There is too much extra space around the heels meaning that the shoes are too wide for the child’s feet.

The 4thSTEP is to check if there is too much extra material in the front of the shoes. If you notice like there is extra material where the toe-box is (take a look at the picture below for clarification), then the shoes are too wide for your child’s feet.

There shouldn’t be all that extra material in the front of the shoes, meaning that these shoes are too wide for the child’s feet.

These 4 steps are very simple to follow, but if you have any doubts about it please don’t hesitate to let me know.

IMPORTANT TIP: If your child is wearing a pair of Velcro sneakers, you can check if the shoes are too wide by checking if the Velcro straps align properly. If the Velcro straps go way over where they are supposed to match, then it means that the shoes are too wide. Take a look at the picture below for clarification:

Do you notice how the Velcro straps are going way pass it where they are supposed to meet? Another sign that the shoes are too wide!

Now, let’s say that you checked all these 4 steps and the shoes are too wide for your child’s feet. This doesn’t automatically means that your child has narrow feet. Maybe you got your child’s shoes too long or too wide (you might have chosen the wrong width) to begin with, that’s why I want you to take a look at an article along with a video I created where I describe the simplest, yet most effective way to figure out your child’s foot size from home:

I get it. Fitting shoes for kids can be a headache, made even worse by the fact that you have to re-fit them every few months.

But…

The majority of podiatry problems in adulthood are caused by ill-fitting footwear in childhood, that’s why it’s so important to fir your kids’ shoes just right!

If your child happens to have narrow feet, then we need to find a different shoe style that will fit the shape of your child’s feet better. I have written several articles for children with narrow feet but the one that covers every single issue is this one:

It’s really important to provide your child with narrow feet with the correct type of shoes, otherwise you will create several foot issues to his/her feet as well as foot and leg pain.

Here you can find a selection of the best every day narrow shoe styles for children:

All of these shoe styles fit “short”, which means that you need to get a whole size longer of the size that your child measures in the standard shoe measuring scale (Brannock device) in order to allow for growing room.

Please keep in mind that if your child has narrow feet, it’s always better to find a pair of shoes that come with shoelaces instead of Velcro closure, since shoelaces will hug your kids’ feet much better.

Do you have a favorite shoe brand or a favorite shoe style for children with narrow feet? Please share your thoughts below so other parents can benefit from your experiences.

STOP BUYING THE WRONG PAIR OF SHOES FOR YOUR CHILDREN.LET’S START TAKING CARE OF THEIR FEET!

I created this webpage to help parents understand the importance that shoes have in healthy foot development and how they can prevent foot problems in the future.Join the rest of the parents who are taking care of their kid’s feet and get my guide for free: 10 Mistakes Parents Must Avoid When Buying Shoes for their Kids.

Join the rest of the parents who are taking care of their kids’ feet and get my guide for free: The 5 Most Common Mistakes Parents Make when Buying Their Kids’ Shoes

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About me

I have been fitting children’s shoes and orthotics for ten years at a premier children’s shoe store specializing in proper fit for over forty years. Every week I help hundreds of children find the best shoes to fit their particular feet. Bones in children are not entirely developed and if a shoe is not properly fitted, then the child’s body’s biomechanics can be altered. It doesn't matter what type of feet your kids have (narrow, medium, wide, or extra wide), there is a style of shoe that will work best for their feet, and you WILL find it here!

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